Named Lawyer of the Year for Litigation-Labor and Employment in St. Louis by Best Lawyers, 2013, 2015

Named Lawyer of the Year for Employment Law-Management in St. Louis by Best Lawyers, 2013

Lawdragon/Human Resource Executive Magazine

Employment

Thompson Coburn LLP

Partner, 1997-Present

Peper, Martin, Jensen, Maichel and Hetlage

Partner, 1994-1997

Associate, 1986-1993

Cliff is a nationally recognized labor and employment attorney who advises executives and HR leaders on all aspects of employment litigation and labor disputes.

He has carved out a special niche in the area of the Railway Labor Act and is one of a limited number of practitioners nationwide who represent carriers in labor disputes under that law.

As the co-chair of Thompson Coburn's Human Resource practice, Cliff has 30 years of experience advising employers and representing them in state and federal courts across the country. He helps employers respond to claims involving discrimination, wage and hour violations, wrongful discharge, and non-compete actions, and has defeated numerous class actions through decertification or summary judgment. Cliff strives to provide the best possible value in each matter and determine early in the litigation process the most effective course of action, be it a compelling trial strategy or the early resolution of claims by settlement.

Cliff represents employers under the National Labor Relations Act, including the handling of unfair labor practice charges, grievance arbitrations, and related litigation. He has stepped in during strikes and contentious union disputes, providing clear, thoughtful guidance during high-stakes conflicts between labor and management. In one case, he secured a rare court-ordered payment from a union for damages caused by a violent union protest. Cliff also assists employers during union election campaigns, providing a unique approach that helps employers identify and address the key issues behind union organization activities.

Cliff's Railway Labor Act practice focuses on preventing unlawful strikes and handling lawsuit seeking to overturn arbitration decisions. In one case, Cliff successfully overturned an award that would have provided over $10 million in relief to a class of claimants. Cliff also successfully arbitrated the first case in which a rail union was ordered to pay damages to a carrier for breach of the collective bargaining agreement.

Please read before continuing

NOTICE.
Although we would like to hear from you, we cannot represent you until we know that
doing so will not create a conflict of interest. Also, we cannot treat unsolicited
information as confidential. Accordingly, please do not send us any information
about any matter that may involve you until you receive a written statement from
us that we represent you (an ‘engagement letter’).

By clicking the ‘ACCEPT’ button, you agree that we may review any information you
transmit to us. You recognize that our review of your information, even if you submitted
it in a good faith effort to retain us, and, further, even if you consider it confidential,
does not preclude us from representing another client directly adverse to you, even
in a matter where that information could and will be used against you. Please click
the ‘ACCEPT’ button if you understand and accept the foregoing statement and wish
to proceed.